Unfortunately, both Princes could have avoided Britain’s 40% estate tax, or approximately $14 million, had the royal family the benefit of wiser counsel.

How did Di’s lawyers botch things big time, and what should she have done differently?

In February of 1987, legendary artist, Andy Warhol, left behind an estate of $500,000,000.

However, because Warhol made one common, chowder-headed mistake, the foundation formed after his death was allowed to open a museum to honor the legendary New York artist … in Pittsburgh!

What did Warhol do wrong, so your readers don’t make the same mistake and end up buried in some cornfield in Nebraska?

For fascinating answers to questions like these, may I suggest your readers turn to The 101 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes where Herbert E. Nass, Esquire, has assembled every bone-headed blunder … foolhardy foul-up … and chowder-headed mistake he has seen in his renowned, 25-year career as an estate attorney for the rich and famous.

On page after page you’ll discover all the dumb things people do — before they keel over.

You should put your Will in a safe deposit box, right? Wrong! Where should you store it. Page 113.

You can assign a Power of Attorney for your estate planning, right? Wrong, again. When you drop dead, your POA drops dead with you. Page 117.

You can avoid probate with a revocable trust, right? Not so fast! Certain conditions have to be met, and, unfortunately, many high-priced lawyers either forget to tell their clients what those are, or don’t know themselves. Page 150.

Your confidential estate documents are safe with your attorney, right? Not always. Attorney Nass has heard more horror stories about Wills accidentally getting tossed into a dumpster by retiring attorneys than he cares to admit. Where should you store your vital papers? Page 129.

Take oil baron, John Paul Getty who requested that his body be immediately buried on his private ranch after his death. Unfortunately, because his legion of fancy lawyers neglected to follow the steps on page 223, Getty’s body was embalmed and refrigerated at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery … for three years!

Take multi-millionaire Wall Street mogul, R. Theodore Ammon. Unfortunately before he was murdered, his high-priced New York law firm did not think to update his Will to reflect his bitter divorce proceedings. As a result his wife, Generosa, who re-married the murderer, was entitled to almost everything. Page 105.

Note: Generosa did not make the same mistake years later. When Generosa passed away, her Will left her jailbird husband, nothing.

But if you’d like to speak with Attorney Nass personally about how to prevent disgruntled relatives from making your Will “disappear” (page 52) … or the inexcusable dumb error Anna Nicole Smith’s attorneys made when drafting her Will (page 124) …

… I’ll just have to make sure Attorney Nass is not in with a client (at $595/hour) that growls, purrs, barks, hisses, or sleeps hanging upside down on a jungle jim.

You see, ever since Attorney Nass represented a cat named Ming with a $200,000 trust fund, it seems his clientele has become, well, furrier or more feathery.

If you don’t know the story, Ming’s owner had passed away, and it was Attorney Nass’s job to make sure all of Ming’s pet food, medical care, and catnip were provided for during Ming’s lifetime. When Ming finally went to kitty heaven at age 10, the trust dictated that the remaining funds would go to Ming’s caretaker, a doorman in Ming’s building. However, because Attorney Nass needed to make sure Ming’s death was not the result of foul play, he arranged for an autopsy which confirmed Ming had indeed passed away from natural causes. With the coroner’s report in hand, Attorney Nass was able to deliver the substantial balance of funds to the doorman and his family.

In this case, everything went according to plan. However, unless you know all the possible pitfalls of estate law, things can go wrong.

Comments

The Warhol Museum is in Pittsburgh because it is Warhol’s hometown. This was not a “blunder” or “chowder-headed mistake”, but intentional.

He is buried in a cemetery just outside of Pittburgh (not New York, as the author might expect). So the comparison in which readers are encouraged to not “make the same mistake and end up buried in some cornfield in Nebraska” – doesn’t make much sense in light of the facts.

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